Renowned Sail Designer Andrew Lechte Joins Doyle Sails

Doyle Sails is proud to announce that Andrew Lechte has joined the Doyle Sails Design Department at the Doyle Sails Headquarters in New Zealand.  

Lechte's name is already familiar to many in the sailing industry, having worked for many years as a sail designer on high profile projects at North Sails, and led the logistics on several Olympic, Volvo Ocean Race and America’s Cup campaigns. Currently he is also the Technical Advisor for Australia Sailing, collecting performance data on Olympic class yachts and advising on technical projects.

Sail design and software development has always been at the core of the Doyle Sails’ operation.  “One of my core skills is rig and sail modelling and with my previous work, the software simply could not model some critical features of both modern and traditional rigs.” said Lechte.

Andrew Lechte shakes hands with Doyle Sails MD David Duff at the Doyle Sails New Zealand loft

 “I was hugely impressed with Doyle’s sail design software and tools. It’s a lot more sophisticated and dynamic than any other program I’ve worked with before. Some of the new product developments and new projects Doyle is involved with have drawn me into joining this ambitious brand and I am looking forward to being part of the winning Doyle Sails team.”

Welcoming Lechte to the team, Richard Bouzaid, Doyle Sails Design Director, said “Andrew’s experience in sports premier events such as, Americas Cup, Volvo, Olympic classes and Grand Prix sailing at the elite levels will play a key role in what we can offer to customers and the ongoing innovation and development of our team. Having spent just a few days with Andrew at our Auckland loft, I can already see what a great addition he will be."

CEO Mike Sanderson adds, “We are delighted to welcome Andrew onboard as part of the expansion of our Global Design Team. I’ve known Andrew for many years - since working together back in the 80’s! Andrew brings an immense amount of knowledge and incredible technical skills which he will be able to advance to the next level with our Doyle Sails design and engineering software.”